The Moonwind Mysteries
The Night Raven (Book 1)
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The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg is book number one in The Moonwind Mysteries. Set in Stockholm in 1880, Mika, a twelve-year-old orphan, lives and works in a local orphanage. On the night the story opens, a young infant is brought to the door of the orphanage at night. She is dropped off with no information, just the words “[t]he Dark Angel knows I’m the one who took her” (5). This event leads to a visit from a local constable and filing of a police report.
As one thing quickly leads to another and opportunities arise, Mika is visited by another constable, Constable Hoff, as her expertise and skill are required. Mysteries surround and begin to unfold as Hoff and Mika quickly learn that the Night Raven, a notorious murderer thought to have been executed, is not dead at all. He actually escaped prison and has killed again. Risking life and limb, Constable Hoff and Mika work to uncover the Night Raven’s true identity and his whereabouts. But if something goes wrong, being an orphan, Mika knows no one will ever look for her or care that she is missing.
While recommended ages 9+, I would likely go 12/13+ and say that even then you need to know your child. As a mystery, this story is very intriguing and gripping. Readers will be enchanted as they try to solve the mystery of what is happening. With all of that being said, the story is also dark as Mika and the orphaned children are trying to survive a deadly winter, and she is helping to solve a murder. Mika also has a bit of a twisted humor as she often tells the younger children disturbing stories in order to make them laugh or to get their mind off the tragic situation they find themselves in as food and firewood are scarce. There are also a few instances of profanity noted below.
Noteworthy quotes/ mentions:
On pages 10 and 11, Mika tells a story about the baby arriving because it is ugly. The children soon realize she is joking. “Every single one of them knows this. And sometimes you have to laugh at the thing that scares you most” (11).
In addition to working at the orphanage, Mika works at a bar known as the Chapel and the owner is known as the Priest. He is quite abusive and vicious until Constable Hoff pays him a visit later in the story. In this particular scene, the Priest has hit Mika pretty hard in the face for arriving late to work.
On page 15 there is a mention of frozen bodies being found every day in shacks and under bridges due to the extremely harsh winter.
With Constable Hoff, Mika visits a crypt to examine a dead body. While there she is considering the cold and how it will quickly reflect the orphanage if the firewood runs out before the cold breaks.
On page 55, Mika is reflecting on the possibility of freezing to death, and that maybe it isn’t so bad. “Someone once said it feels like falling asleep” [...] Mika shakes it off. She thinks about what she heard Amelia say once, that death has a beautiful voice” (55).
The man executed as the Night Raven was beheaded. Mika considers what that might have been like - if he went willingly or if he was forced (66). This is prior to her realizing that he was never actually executed. Someone was, but it wasn’t the actual Night Raven.
On page 106-107, Mika tells the orphan children a story that police men eat children. She speaks of them frying fingers and toes first before cooking the whole body in a large pot for hours. She is telling a story to get the children to eat their gruel and stale bread, to take their minds off their situation. It works, but it is a gruesome reading if you have a more sensitive child.
“With locks and bolts, death can be kept outside the door. But if a hungry child stops even wanting to eat, then no locks in the world can help them. Then death is already sitting by their side” (109).
As for profanity: “dammit” (16), “Crap” (48), “Crap and piss” (84), and “that was a hell of a punch” (128).
As a sort of spoiler of the end, Mika solves the whereabouts of the Night Raven and his connections to others in the story. She learns a bit more about her own history and that Amelia, the head of the orphanage, has been keeping a secret from her. She also builds a sort of friendship with Constable Hoff.
Moreover, this story builds out intrigue and positive themes as Mika is selfless in the way she cares for Rufus and the other children in the orphanage. She tries to not be quick to judge, but understanding that people do certain things for a reason. She is also a brave and courageous character seeking to live her life to the fullest, to make it count.
The Queen of Thieves (Book 2)
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The Queen of Thieves The Moonwind Mysteries by Swedish author Johan Rundberg is an engaging story about a young group of orphans inherently looking for a loving home. Originally written in Swedish, this story is the second in The Moonwind Mysteries. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I finished this story did I realize it was the second in a series. Despite a somewhat shortened falling action and conclusion, I did enjoy the story and plan to go back and read book one and book three.
Set in the 1800s, the story follows Mika, a twelve-year-old assistant to Amelia, the leader of the orphanage in which the orphans all live. Mika has questions about her own past, some of which she uncovers on her own and some that Amelia is willing to divulge. Unfortunately, some of the orphans close to Mika disappear. In searching for the missing orphans, Mika discovers that they have been taken in by a lady known as Henrietta. Thinking the orphans have been turned into thieves, Mika seeks help from a local policeman she has worked with before. Despite his assistance, Mika herself is arrested, fakes her death, learns how to pick locks, and must come face to face with who Henrietta really is. Fortunately, Mika is able to survive and to solve the mystery before it is too late.
Noteworthy quotes/ mentions:
Mika sometimes thinks back on the past. At one point she has a memory of children she found hiding. “Emaciated, starved, terrified children, their bodies covered in marks from beatings and rat bites” (31).
There is a mention on page 41 about magpies being an omen for death.
When Mika confronts Henrietta about Ossian and Kristina, Henrietta replies, “They’re a part of my family” [...] “Well, they’re not my own children, of course, but I’m sure someone with your background will appreciate that families can come in different guises” (57-58).
There is an infant, Nora, who was left at the orphanage. Mika cares for her and there are concerns at some points as to whether or not Nora will survive. Mika is dedicated to caring for her.
On page 126-127, Nora is weak and Mika thinks she might be dead. Fortunately, she is not.
“It’s as if the orphanage is sucking the life out of Nora. She needs to be given a real home where everyone cares about her” (129).
Mika must disguise herself after breaking out of prison and being presumed dead. She cuts her hair and puts on clothes that do not belong to her. On page 87, Mika is seeing herself and is shocked. The text states, “What was she expecting? A girl dressed as a boy, maybe. Whatever it was, she certainly wasn’t expecting to see this. The reflection looking back at her belongs to a completely different person, a stranger she has never seen before, both boy and girl at the same time. [...] She hardly recognizes herself.”
Thinking about the children one night before planning to leave, Mika’s thoughts state “Even if the children are provided with their daily bread and a bed to sleep in, they’ll always be easy to lure away with promises of something more. Because, despite their differences, they all share the same dream: the dream of another life, one beyond the orphanage” (97).
On page 121-122, Henrietta tells Mika a story about her birth, claiming that her father was a nobleman that had a brief affair with her mother, her mother then lived the rest of her days in shame for “having a child out of wedlock.”
“Anger swells inside Mika, like a kicked wasp’s nest, but she manages to keep it in check. Anger is dangerous. It causes a lack of focus, hasty decisions, and poor judgment” (158).
On page 172-173, Mika believes that Henrietta intends to kill Kristina as a diversion to steal a gem. Mika waves a signal and a separate diversion allows for Kristina to be rescued.
Speaking of Henrietta, “She was a predator” [...] “And predators seek out victims who appear weak and offer no resistance” (193).
“It’s not enough just to keep a child alive. A child also needs to be given hope. Hope that they might become more than just cheap labor” (195).
Overall, there is more build up to the climax than the action to resolve it, but the story is well told and engaging. Even though I started in the middle of the series, there are enough details and information that readers are not completely lost. Additionally, there is great messaging about watching for deception and what it looks like to care for others. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
The Lost Ones (Book 3)
The Lost Ones by Johan Rundberg is book three in The Moonwind Mysteries. It is now late summer and Mika has moved on to solve one of the most dangerous cases yet. Detective Hoff brings her in on the missing case of a fourteen-year-old girl from an affluent part of town. They quickly catch on that things are not exactly as they seem. Furthermore, if this one mystery was not enough, Mika is awoken in the middle of the night by Tekla who takes her to a recent building site in which an entire hole full of the skeletons of children have been found.
Working in the Chapel one evening, Mika is contemplating all the information she has learned. Meanwhile, one of the drunk patrons chokes her and reveals that he did not do what his superior told him to, but that he had to put them in a sacred place. Mika is confused by this revelation and also gasping for air as she was severely choked.
Mika shares the experience and intel she received from Tekla, and the two set out to see it again in the daylight. Unfortunately, when they arrive, the grave has been filled in and a new foundation erected in its place. The manager of the project is also not pleased with their visit and is quick to shake them off. With little options without evidence, Mika is reminded of what the drunk patron told her at the Chapel. They begin to scour the local cemeteries until they find the one in which the bones had been dropped. The custodian of the cemetery does not want to get involved with any investigation. Everyone is fearful of the “Dark Angel”, whoever this seems to be.
Jumping from one investigation to another, Mika manages to “interview” one of Beatrice’s friends, which really begins to open up more avenues for learning the whereabouts of Beatrice, the missing affluent fourteen-year-old. It isn’t long before Mika starts to put things together and the skeletons, the Dark Angel, and Beatrice’s disappearance are all connected. And now, things are even more dangerous for Constable Hoff and Mika. In fact, one of the Dark Angel’s associates attempts to murder Constable Hoff. Fortunately, he does survive, but the wound and blood loss are quite severe. As further backup for her new plan, Mika calls in the assistance of Tekla and her crew.
If you have made it to book three in the reviews for this series, you know it is a rather dark mystery series, and while it is recommended ages 10-14, I again would say 13+ given the nature of subject matter. Aside from investigating murders, and in this installment in the series, the murder of over 40 infants, what is ultimately behind this is a series of unwed mothers and their families disposing of the unwanted children. Mika has a further revelation that just like Nora, she was intended to be handed over to the Dark Angel, but ultimately was saved and taken to the orphanage instead. Beatrice, the missing girl, is herself an unwed pregnant mother at fourteen. As a side note, the woman who is the wet nurse for Nora is also approximately a few older than Mika. Mika manages to track her down through connections and uses her as a cover to trick the Dark Angel. Mika’s plan works, but it almost kills her. In the end, the Dark Angel is arrested and put in a secure prison. Mika chooses to meet her face-to-face. When she does, the Dark Angel reveals the true identity of her father. Upon meeting him, she learns further details about her mother and book three ends with her on the road to finally find her and meet her.
Noteworthy quotes/ mentions:
Rufus has been selected for a special medical trial, so in the book he goes to a facility and has to occasionally wear a brace in order to straighten his back.
On page 33, Tekla takes Mika to the construction site where the skeletons have been found. “Then Mika’s stomach turns inside out. Because the stumps are not tree roots. They are tiny skeletons. Layer on top of layer of ribs as thin as paper, and four-inch long femurs” (33).
In chapter 6, Mika is reflecting on the reason that people come into the Chapel and drink so heavily. On page 45, she mentions that some are trying to forget, some are trying to reward themselves, some use it as a way to medicate their anxiety, and some have no choice due to addiction.
On page 71, Mika and Constable Hoff find the remains of the children. There were forty-six skulls in all.
Later on page 76, Mika learns that Constable Hoff had a son once that died in a climbing accident when he was ten. Hoff shares with Mika how it was such a dark time for him afterwards. The hardest for him has been the anger. At this point, Mika shows him the bruises on her neck from the drunk and she tells him, “I know you’re not like them. But the world is divided between those who allow themselves to be controlled by their anger, and those who need to be careful” (77).
Nora’s mother shows up at the orphanage to see Nora and to know that she is well. She is extremely fearful because of the Dark Angel. The mother, Cecilia, tells Mika, “The boy I met comes from a good family” [...] “We were not married, and I am also older than he is. His parents could not accept me, or the child. They arranged for me to go to a special place where somebody would help me have the baby. But I would not be allowed to bring the baby home” (107).
On page 112, Mika finds Constable Hoff stabbed in his home.
In chapter 18, Mika confronts Amelia about the truth of her own beginnings and what she really knows about the Dark Angel. Amelia tells her, “Powerful families that want to get rid of unwanted heirs send their daughters or their sons’ girlfriends to the Dark Angel. After the child is born, the girls go home” (117).
Mika is committed to protecting the children killed by the Dark Angel. “I’m doing it so no more children will have to die and get thrown into a hole” (130).
Beatrice shares her story with Mika on page 147. Beatrice is pregnant and the father is Ivar who worked as a valet and carriage driver for her family. Her family is determined that she not keep the child. They had planned to send her to the Dark Angel, which is why she ran away.
On page 170, Mika comes face to face with the Dark Angel. She describes her as having a “dark, ancient force, animal-like.” Later, the Dark Angel tells briefly how her work became a habit of evil and death.
After an explosion that almost kills her, “Mika’s last thought is that death feels like the hug of a mother” (173). She survives, and it is clear in the story that Mika does not desire to die, but given the slight awkward glorification of death, I think it was worth mentioning.
The word “bastard” is used on page 183 by the Angel of Death. “That I free them from a life as bastards, cast out from their own families. But you made it.”
The word “damn” is used on page 192, when Mika tells Hoff that she doesn’t have time “to send a damn letter” to her father.
Overall, I really did enjoy the story. It was captivating and intriguing to follow Mika and try to solve the case maybe even before she does. While the crux of the story centers around unwed mothers disposing of their babies, there isn’t anything mentioned sexually. It is very clean and matter of fact. However, you can’t get away from a story where fourteen-year-olds are pregnant, even if the time is 1880. This is where discernment is especially needed for families who have children who may be a bit young for the subject matter. Book four should be available in March of 2026. I hope to get a review of that book completed by the end of spring to fully round out the series.
